Providing guiding service by means of a wireless terminal

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a guiding system for wireless terminals. In the system, position-specific information of route points of the route on which a first wireless terminal travels is determined and it is sent to a guiding server. Supplementary data used for guiding the route are stored in the first terminal in response to a request of the user. The supplementary data are associated with the position information, and the guiding server compiles and stores route information comprising position information and supplementary data. The route information is transmitted from the guiding server to at least one wireless terminal in response to the route request. The position of the terminal is determined and the received route information is presented in the terminal so that supplementary data are presented when the terminal is in places with which the supplementary data are associated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of application Ser. No. 10/324,312,filed Dec. 19, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,155,338, the content of whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to guiding services provided by wireless terminalsand particularly to determining routes and utilising them in wirelessterminals.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various guiding services have been designed particularly for vehicles,where the location of a vehicle is typically observed and the positionon the map is determined, which map can be displayed to a user. In someguiding systems implemented in vehicles, it is also possible that a userpredetermines the destination he/she wants to go and the system selectsa suitable predetermined route from the map. The user can be guidedalong the route by using voice commands or visual signs, for instance.

Some mobile stations also have positioning properties, which arearranged by providing a mobile station with a GPS receiver (GlobalPositioning System). With these mobile stations, it is possible todetermine the position of a mobile station and to load maps into it, themaps showing the location and travelling direction of the mobile stationon the basis of position information provided by the GPS receiver. Auser may determine a point on the map he aims at, and by using routemarks updated on the screen on the basis the position information, hemay travel towards the destination. The user can mark severaldestinations on the map, and routes can be formed between them. Thereare also services, in which a map indicating a predetermined route isloaded for a guiding service that is used in a car, for instance. Theuser may use this route in order to travel to the desired destination.

It would be desirable, for instance, to determine a taken route to acottage and to personally guide other friends who are coming to thecottage. However, this has not been possible in known guiding servicesprovided by mobile stations. In some mobile stations, named map pointscan be sent to other mobile stations (of the same manufacturer and ofthe same model), but besides only the points shown on the map, it wouldbe useful to offer other guiding information as well. By usingconventional communicating means, a mobile station can naturally sendadditional guiding information for instance as short messages, but thisis cumbersome.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is thus an object of the invention to provide a method and anapparatus implementing the method such that a wireless terminal can beprovided with an improved guiding service, which may comprise personalinformation. The objects of the invention are achieved by a method,guiding system, wireless terminals, guiding server and computer program,which are characterized in what is stated in the independent claims. Thepreferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependentclaims.

The invention is based on the fact that on the basis of the travellingof a wireless terminal, a guiding system determines route points on aroute and a user of the terminal can initiate the recording ofsupplementary data which are used for providing information on theroute. The supplementary data are typically associated with the positioninformation of the route point at the time of recording. The systemfurther comprises a guiding server which compiles and stores routeinformation, which can be identified by a route identifier and itcomprises at least a route formed by position information from theterminal and position-specific supplementary data. At the route usagephase, the guiding server selects the requested route information on thebasis of the route identifier and transmits the requested routeinformation to at least one wireless terminal. The terminal which hasreceived the route determines its position and presents received routeinformation to the user so that said supplementary data are presentedwhen the terminal is situated in places with which supplementary dataare associated. Supplementary data can be speech information, forinstance, in which case supplementary data are presented by reproducingspeech information by means of sound reproduction means of the terminal.

The method and apparatus of the invention provide the advantage thatwireless terminals can be used for forming routes that are used by otherwireless terminals. Routes may be stored in a centralised manner inservers which typically have a great memory capacity and which, by usingsupplementary data the user himself has added thereto, provide a lot ofadditional value for different guidance situations and make the guidancepersonal and flexible for different users, environments and situations.As the supplementary data are presented automatically in the rightplace, the user receives appropriate guidance at the right time and heneed not look for the proper instruction among all guidance materialreceived.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a serverdetermines the route points according to position information of theterminal into map data. The server also forms a route between the routepoints determined in the map data and adds the map data and at least oneroute determined therein to the route information. The terminal mayprovide the user with map data, route points determined in the map dataand the route between them according to the location of the terminal atthat moment. Thus, the terminal forming the route need not maintain mapdata, which typically require a lot of memory, but the server may addthe necessary map material according to the route points.

According to a second preferred embodiment of the invention, theterminal can store audiovisual information, particularly photos of theenvironment or speech samples, and add the audiovisual information assupplementary data. These photos can be displayed and/or speech samplescan be reproduced by a terminal using route information in places withwhich they are associated. By using supplementary data in this way, theguidance can be made very specific and personal and very clear guidinginstructions can be given at important crossroads, for instance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention will now be described in greater detail in connection withpreferred embodiments, with reference to the attached drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a guiding system according to a preferred embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates elements of a wireless terminal and server in greaterdetail;

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b show a method of a preferred embodiment as a flowchart;

FIG. 4 illustrates a guiding information packet according to a preferredembodiment; and

FIG. 5 illustrates guiding information, which can be presented to auser.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a guiding system comprising at least one wireless terminalTE, a pair of which are shown as 110 and 112, and a guiding server S,denoted as 114, and an assorted data bank (DB) 120. The TE can be anywireless terminal, such as a mobile station, a PDA device, a portablecomputer or a terminal integrated into a vehicle. The TE can beconnected to a wireless network MNW 116, which provides at least theconnection necessary for data transmission. The MNW can be any prior artwireless network, such as a network which supports the GSM service, anetwork which supports the GPRS service (General Packet Radio Service),a third-generation mobile communication network, such as a UMTS network(Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), a wireless local areanetwork WLAN or a short-range wireless network, such as a Bluetoothnetwork. Also other circuit-switched or packet-switched networks NW 118,can exist between the TE and the S. The Internet can also be usedbetween the network MNW and the network NW to which the S is connected,whereby data transmission employs the IP protocol (Internet Protocol) ofthe network layer and the reliable TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)or unreliable UDP protocol (User Datagram Protocol) of the transportlayer.

FIG. 2 illustrates elements of the server, S 114, and those of thewireless terminal, TE (110 or 112), in greater detail and according toan embodiment of the invention. The TE and the S respectively includememories MEM 210 and SMEM 212, and central processing units CPU 214 andSCPU 216 with one or more processors. The server, S 114, also includesat least one user interface, SUI 218, and data transmission means, SI/O220. The memories MEM 210, and SMEM 212 include a non-volatile portionfor storing applications controlling the central processing units CPU,214 and SCPU 216 as well as other information to be maintained, and avolatile portion for temporary data processing. Computer program codesexecutable in the central processing units CPU 214 and SCPU 216 can beused for implementing inventive devices, i.e., applications for routedetermination, storage and usage, preferred embodiments of which areillustrated in FIGS. 3 a and 3 b. The computer program codes can beobtained via a network and/or stored in external memory means, such as afloppy disk, a CD ROM or other external memory means, from which theycan be loaded into the memory MEM 210 and SMEM 212. The inventive meanscan also be implemented by using hardware solutions or a combination ofhardware and software solutions.

A terminal TE according to a preferred embodiment comprises atransceiver (TxRx) 222 for arranging wireless data transmission with abase station or access point of a wireless network (MNW) 116, picturestorage means (CA) 224 for taking, storing and forwarding still picturesor video pictures, a screen (SC) 226, and voice information storagemeans MC 228 for receiving and converting the user's speech information(microphone) and for recording it in the memory 210 and for forwardingit. The picture storage device (CA) 224 can be implemented by a cameraand a computer program which is to be executed in the CPU and isconfigured to store picture data received from the camera (integratedinto or separate from the terminal TE) in the memory 210 preferably in ahighly compressed format, and to transmit them by using the transceiver222. The TE also comprises other user interface means, such as akeyboard (KB) 230 and a loudspeaker LS 232. According to a preferredembodiment, the terminal TE also comprises positioning device (PS) 234,for determining its position, such as a satellite-based positioningdevice. The positioning device 234 can typically also be used fordetermining the travelling direction of the terminal TE. It is to benoted that the terminal TE does not necessarily comprise all devicesillustrated in FIG. 2; the picture storage device CA, for instance, isnot necessarily included in the terminal TE.

FIG. 2 also illustrates a network for a UMTS (universal mobiletelecommunication system), by which wireless data transmission can beprovided for the terminal TE. The UMTS comprises user equipment TE, basestations BS 240, (typically referred to as ‘node Bs’) and radio networkcontrollers RNC 242 for controlling the base stations, which support anair interface according to a wideband code division multiple accesstechnology, i.e., the WCDMA technology. The core network comprises athird-generation mobile switching centre 3GMSC/VLR 252 forcircuit-switched connections via a PSTN/ISDN 243, a third-generationserving GPRS support node 3G-SGSN 244, a home location register (HLR)246 for subscriber information and the like, and a gateway GPRS supportnode (GGSN) 248, for packet-switched data transmission via packet datanetwork (PDN) 250.

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b show a method according to a preferred embodiment.FIG. 3 a illustrates route determination. When the user of the terminalTE wants to determine a route, he preferably activates a routedetermination application executable in the central processing unit CPUfrom the terminal TE. The terminal TE then preferably sets up aconnection 301 with the server S. The server S sends 301 a unique routeidentifier, by which the user controls the route, to the terminal TE. Onthe basis of the route identifier, the terminal TE user forming theroute, i.e. the route former, can, for instance, name the route,supplement it later with background information, destroy it, etc. Theserver S may simultaneously inquire to whom the route is to bedistributed, and the route former may then select the desired personsfrom his address book. The terminal TE can transmit the information onthe receivers to the server S, which adds it to the route information.The receivers can be indicated, for instance, on the basis of the namesselected from the address book and the MSISDN numbers (Mobile SubscriberISDN) associated with them; also terminal identifiers, such as an IMEIcode (International Mobile Equipment Identity), can be directly used.Route receivers can also be determined afterwards, when the entire routeis ready.

After the route determination has been prepared, the terminal TE canstart 301 to determine the route. A route consists of route points,which comprise position information (latitude, longitude and preferablyalso altitude) determining the exact position and an identifier, such asa number or a name given by the user. The position information of theroute point is determined 302 according to the position of the terminalTE. According to the present embodiment, the terminal TE determines theposition information of the route points. The route points can bedetermined automatically after the terminal TE has travelled a certaindistance, for instance. Also the user can determine a route point whenhe sees an important guidance point, such as a crossroads. According toa preferred embodiment, also a time stamp is associated with theposition information in step 302. The time information is obtained fromthe internal clock of the terminal TE or from an external source, suchas the GPS.

By employing any positioning technology, the terminal TE can determine302 its position by means of positioning means PS shown in FIG. 2. Awell-known positioning technology is GPS positioning, in which a GPSreceiver has been integrated into the terminal TE. The method isaccurate especially outdoors, but it does not work indoors, however. Thecosts of the terminal can be reduced by employing an A-GPS method(Assisted GPS), in which part of the functions (such as positioncalculation) are carried out by the network (MNW), but this naturallymeans that changes have to be made to the network.

After the position information of the route point has been determined,it is checked 303 whether the user wishes to associate the route pointwith some supplementary data. In step 303, the user may select from theterminal TE a function, according to which supplementary data can beassociated with the route point, or the route determination applicationof the TE can actively inquire of the user whether he wishes toassociate additional information with the route point. If the userwishes to add supplementary data, the supplementary data selected/addedby the user are associated 304 with the position information determinedby the route point. It is possible that the user has predetermined thatthe supplementary data are associated with one or more route pointsautomatically.

Supplementary data may include, for instance, a stored photo of theenvironment, stored audio data on the user's speech or a text sequenceentered by the user. Depending on the properties of the terminal,supplementary data may comprise one or more data types (speechdata/video picture/still picture/textual data) and storage formats. Byemploying technologies known per se, supplementary data can be recordedand the obtained supplementary data (supplementary file) can be storedin the memory. Using these supplementary data in the route determinationapplication is novel. Depending on the type of the supplementary data tobe recorded, the route determination application receives data, formingthe supplementary data to be associated with at least one route point,from the voice information storage means MC/picture storage meansCA/keyboard KB (textual data may also be obtained from a touch screen ora speech signal, for instance). Consequently, a person using the routecan be provided with a wide variety of additional information; forinstance, he can be informed of a clearly visible landmark or a pleasantcafé. If the terminal TE is used for taking a photo of the environment,the photo is preferably also supplemented with heading information atthe moment the photo is taken, indicating the direction in which thephoto is taken. If it is the TE that determines 302 the positioninformation of the route points, it can also associate 304 thesupplementary data with the route points.

After the route point has been determined and the possible supplementarydata have been associated, the TE sends 305 the position information andthe supplementary data to the server S. At the application level, theinformation can be formed into a packet comprising the route pointinformation, which is illustrated in greater detail below in connectionwith FIG. 4.

As the server S receives the information of the new route point, itbinds 306 the route point to previous route points associated with thesame route according to the route identifier and compiles routeinformation. The route information compiled 306 by the server Scomprises at least the position information and supplementary datareceived from the terminal TE, but the server S may also add otherguiding information. According to a preferred embodiment, in step 306the server S determines the position of the route point on the map andadds map information to the route information. This can be implemented,for instance, such that the server S obtains a map on which the routepoint is marked and illustrating the environment of the route point froma map database or a map server. This map can be added to the routeinformation and at the same time, the following route points arepreferably added to the map. Typically the route is formed on the basisof a road map, whereupon several road options can exist between theroute points. The server S can also determine one or more routealternatives between the received route point and one or more previousroute points. Thus, the shortest route, for instance, can be determinedon the map. On the basis of the position information, the server canretrieve the names of streets on which one has travelled, and thesenames can be added to the route information. On the basis of the routedetermined on the map, the server S can supplement the route informationwith different guiding information, such as visual arrows or speechinstructions, which guide the user on the route especially atcrossroads. Also distance information can be added to the routeinformation. The server S can compare the time stamp of the route pointwith the time stamps of the previous route points, calculate travellingtime information and add travelling time information to the routeinformation.

This provides the advantage that it is possible to start using the routepoints soon after they have been transferred to the server S, whichmeans that, if required, the server S can form the route ‘piece bypiece’ and the route can be utilized (FIG. 3 b) even though it were notcompletely ready yet.

After the position information has been transferred 305 and the routepoint has been added 306, it is checked 307 whether the entire route hasnow been determined, i.e. whether the user still wants to determine newroute points. The user may be inquired whether he still wants to addroute points, and, on the basis of the answer, the process advances toeither step 302 or 308. It is also possible that the route isinterpreted as determined when the user stops using the routedetermination application. Furthermore, it is possible that in thebeginning (301), the user has determined a target route point and afterthe TE has reached the target route point, it is automaticallyinterpreted that the route is determined. If all route points have notyet been determined at the next route point, the process returns to step302 where the position information of the route point is determined.After all route points have been determined, the server S may finish theroute information determining the route and store 308 it, identified byits route identifier, in its memory SMEM or in a separate database DB.The server S may then provide the route information with an end pointand, for instance, determine the total distance and time between thestarting and end point. The route information can be stored by employingany technology, for instance as an XML file (Extensible MarkupLanguage), from which there are, if required, links to other files,particularly to image and speech files providing supplementary data.

Unlike in FIG. 3 a, position information of all route points and thepossible supplementary data associated with them can be stored in thememory of the terminal TE and they can be transmitted to the server Sonly after all route points the user needs have been determined. Steps305 and 306 are thus left out, and the server S forms the route on thebasis of all route points that are received from the terminal TE at thesame time, and stores it to be available for other terminals. Thisembodiment provides the advantage that the route-related information canbe transferred at one time, which is typically more cost-efficient forthe user than to transfer information associated with each route pointseparately.

FIG. 3 b illustrates how a stored route is used. Typically, routeinformation is used by other terminals than those that have formed theroute, but naturally a terminal which uses the route can also be theterminal which has determined the route. There may be a need for using acertain route 310 when the user of the terminal TE wants to load theroute into his terminal, for instance when a friend has informed that hehas stored the route information to be used for guidance with a certainroute identifier in the server. According to a preferred embodiment,already when the route is being formed (FIG. 3 a), the terminal TE orthe server S transmits a delivery message to the terminals TE which areused by the persons determined to use the route. This delivery messagemay be a text message, for instance, which includes at least a routeidentifier and possibly some route description. The delivery message canbe sent after the route has been stored 307 or even earlier. Thedelivery message can be transmitted, for instance, as a short message onthe basis of the MSISDN numbers stored in the telephone book of the TE,in which case, by utilising the subscriber register of the mobilecommunication network MNW, the delivery message can be directed at theproper receivers by means of a well-known GSM technology, for instance.

The route identifier entered by the user or included in the deliverymessage received by the TE is selected as a route to be requested, and aroute request comprising at least the route identifier is transmitted311 from the terminal TE requiring the route to the server S. Thedelivery message can also be transmitted in step 311 from the terminalforming the route to the server S, in which case the server S canautomatically transmit the route identifier of the delivery message tothe terminals directly or indirectly determined in the routeinformation. Route receivers can be determined as early as during theroute determination illustrated in FIG. 3 a, whereby the server S canautomatically start to transmit route information to the receivers onthe basis of the request transmitted in FIG. 3 a (and indicated in step301, for instance). The request 311 can also be received from a thirdparty, which is not necessarily a wireless terminal.

On the basis of the received identifier, the server S retrieves 312 therequested route from its memory SMEM or from the database DB. If theserver S charges the terminal TE for the route transmission, it may alsorequire that identification data of the user and/or terminal aretransmitted before the route information can be transferred to theterminal TE. The route information is transferred 313 in its entiretyeither at one time or in units to the terminal TE. Route information canbe transferred in units, for instance, so that on the basis of theposition of the terminal TE, a new route information packet istransferred, guiding the user to the next route point, for instance.Thus, the transmission of the route information (313) may be based onrequests which the TE has transmitted and which possibly include theposition information of the terminal TE. Based on the positioninformation, the server S can select such route information that isuseful for the terminal TE in its environment. At any stage, the user ofthe terminal TE can browse the received route information. The user can,for instance, study the entire route on the map, before he startsdriving.

According to a preferred embodiment, the terminal TE utilising theguiding service continually determines 314 the position of the terminalTE so that the received route information can be used for presentingguiding information which is in accordance with the position at thatmoment. For instance, the user can activate the route usage applicationwhen he starts his trip. Received route information is presented 314 tothe user so that the supplementary data are presented when the terminalis in places with which the supplementary data are associated. Theterminal TE, i.e. preferably the route usage application executable inthe processing unit CPU of the terminal, thus compares the positioninformation obtained from the positioning means PS with the positioninformation included in the received route information and updates theroute information, especially the screen SC, which is shown to the user,on the basis of the position at that moment. If route informationcomprises map data, the route points and the route the user has takencan be shown to the user on the map. It is also possible to add theroute points to the maps of the terminal TE on the basis of the receivedposition information. At least road names of the route, preferably addedby the server S, can be displayed directly on the map or on a separatetext display. Supplementary data and other guiding information added bythe server S are presented when the TE is substantially (within adetermined range of variation) in a place with which they areassociated. For instance, guiding information which the server S hasadded to relate to crossroads is presented in places determined by theserver S, even though they were not the route points determined by theterminal. The supplementary data associated with the route points in theterminal (step 304, FIG. 3 a) are preferably presented automatically viathe user interface (screen SC or earpieces) of the TE, when the terminalTE is, according to the position information comparison, substantiallyat a route point. The terminal TE can draw the user's attention to thenext route point by vibration or a tone, by blinking the screen or by acombination thereof.

According to an alternative embodiment, the terminal TE does notcomprise positioning means PS, and so all route information can beloaded into it at one time in step 313. The terminal TE thus shows 314the route information so that the supplementary data are presented atthe proper route points but the route information is not updatedaccording to the position of the terminal TE. It is possible that, forinstance, on the basis of the position information of the TE obtainedfrom the mobile communication network MNW, the server S transmits routeinformation in units 313 so that the TE can always present properguiding information.

According to a preferred embodiment, route information can be adaptedaccording to the properties of the terminal TE. In step 311, the TE maythus also transmit information on the properties. The server S adaptsthe route information in step 312 so that only supplementary datasupported by the terminal TE are transmitted to it. For instance,pictures can be left out, if the terminal does not support the displayof pictures. It is also possible that the server S (or a converter ituses) converts one or more content formats of the route information sothat the information is in the format supported by the TE. For instance,pictures are converted into a JPEG format (Joint Photographic ExpertsGroup) before they are transmitted. The size or colour depth of picturescan also be changed. Speech data can also be adapted into a differentformat, for instance. The terminal TE may have a memory restriction tothe size of the route information to be received, and the server thuscontrols that the size of the route information to be sent does notexceed the limit. When the route information is adapted, the propertiesof the user interface of the terminal TE can be taken into accountbefore the transmission: for instance, pictures are reduced to the sizeof the screen SC in advance. In this way, only such route informationthat the terminal TE can utilize is transmitted to it. In thisembodiment, different terminal classes can be formed, or, for instance,the file formats which are supported by the terminal TE can be indicatedin step 310. To indicate terminal properties, user agent profilefunctions defined in the WAP protocol, for instance, can be used. Theproperties of the terminal TE can also be stored in the network, such asin a database DB maintained by the server S or in the mobilecommunication network MNW (e.g. home location register HLR), from whichthe server S can obtain them. This embodiment improves the reliabilityof the guiding service and reduces error situations, which areunpleasant to the user. Thus, the guiding service can, by using e.g. anXML storage format, support a wide variety of terminals TE, and thusroute information need not be stored separately for each differentterminal.

It is also possible that the user indicates (step 311), which kind ofinformation the route should contain. The server S then adapts the routeinformation according to the wishes of the user. He may, for instance,leave out the pictures in order to cut down data transmission costs.User preferences can be predetermined in the application of the terminalTE providing the guiding service, and so the user need not personallyselect them each time. Also the manner in which the route information isloaded can be selected according to user- or terminal-specific settings,and so the user may want to receive all route information at one time,for instance.

According to a preferred embodiment, route information can be used eventhough the final route information were not stored yet (step 308 of FIG.3 a has not been achieved). This can be referred to as ‘Followme’—function in which the route can be used for guiding before the routeformer has reached his destination. Thus, route information can beupdated for the receiving terminal (step 313) and it can be utilized(step 314) as soon as the server obtains information on a new routepoint (step 306 in FIG. 3 a).

The position of the terminal TE can also be determined in the network orin the network and terminal in step 302. According to an embodiment, theposition of the terminal TE in step 302 is determined in the mobilecommunication network MNW. The terminal TE can thus transmit anindication when the route point should be determined to the network MNW.The MNW then transmits the position information to the server S, whichdetermines the route on the basis of the method illustrated in FIG. 3 a.Also the supplementary data stored in the terminal TE are transmitted tothe server S, which associates 304 them with the desired positioninformation (route points) on the basis of the time information.

One network-based positioning method is the positioning according to acell identification (=Cell ID), whereby the network determines theposition of a terminal according to the cell in which the terminal hasregistered. The method provides the advantage that no changes arerequired to the network or terminals, but the accuracy is poor in areaswhere cells are big, such as on the countryside. In cities, too, theaccuracy is only about a couple of hundreds of meters. Anothernetwork-based positioning method is ‘Time of Arrival’ (TOA), in which atleast three fixed base stations (BS) of the network measure propagationdelays of the signal transmitted from a terminal, by which delays theposition of the terminal can be calculated accurately. The method is,however, quite expensive. E-OTD (Enhanced Observed Time Difference) isan example of a positioning method, which uses both a network and aterminal. In this method, the terminal measures the time delay of asignal which is supplied from at least three base stations. The systemalso comprises an equal number of location measurement units (LMU) andbase stations and they are usually also located in connection with eachother. The LMU also measures the propagation delay of the signalsupplied from the BS, and, because the location of the LMU is known, theposition of the terminal can be calculated on the basis of thedifference between the propagation delays measured by the terminal andthe LMU. This method allows a positioning accuracy of about hundredmeters to be achieved in the GSM network, and the accuracy is expectedto improve in the third-generation mobile communication networks.

According to a preferred embodiment, position information can also beassociated (in step 302) with heading information, which is typicallythe direction in which the route former travels. The heading informationcan also relate to a route point, which means that it can indicate inwhich direction the route point is. The heading information can bedetermined, for instance, by means of the used positioning system, if itis technically capable thereof, or by means of a device providingheading information and connected to or integrated into the terminal TE.As was mentioned above, heading information can be associated with thephotos that are taken, and so when a photo is taken, the direction atwhich it is taken can be determined and the heading information can beutilized when the photo is displayed.

With reference to FIG. 4, when a route is stored, a uniform routeinformation entity according to a preferred embodiment, which can becalled a route information packet 400, comprises the followinginformation fields: type 401, route ID 402, time stamp 403, position404, heading 405 and supplementary data 406. The packet type determinesthe packet content, which varies according to the terminal properties.On the basis of the route identifier Route ID, the information of thepacket is added to other route information compiled by the server S. Thetime stamp can be used by the server S for forming route information.The position information may be included, depending on whether thepositioning is carried out in the terminal or in the network, wherebythe server obtains position information of the terminal from elsewhereby using the time stamp. The availability of the heading informationdepends on the terminal and the field may thus be entirely absent. Thesupplementary data may comprise, for instance, digital photographic ormoving pictures, audio data, icons or animations, depending on theproperties of the terminal TE. One route information packet may transferinformation of several route points, whereby a route ID, time stamp,position, heading, and supplementary data can be created for each routepoint or the route points can be distinguished by route pointidentifiers and a route point identifier with which the supplementarydata are associated can be indicated in the supplementary data. The EORfield (End Of Route) 407 of the packet can indicate to the server S thatthe route point according to the position information of the packet isthe end point of the route. It is possible that in addition to what isshown in FIG. 4, the packet also comprises information on the routereceivers. The route determination application collects the packetsshown in FIG. 4 and transmits them to the lower protocol layers fortransport. The packet format illustrated in FIG. 4 can be utilized bothat the route determination stage and at the route usage stage, i.e., inaddition to step 305 of FIG. 3 a, also in step 313 of FIG. 3 b.

Data shown in FIG. 4 can be transferred by using any data transmissionservice. Packet-switched as well as short message services are naturallyparticularly suitable for transferring guiding data, because theyreserve data transmission capacity only when data are transferred, whichmeans that particularly at the route determination stage, the capacityof the network MNW is used more efficiently (than in a conventionalcircuit-switched data call) and the transmission can also be morecost-efficient to the user. Between the mobile communication network MNWand the server S, data can be transferred by utilising, for instance, aTCP/IP stack and a SMTP protocol (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). In themobile communication network MNW, properties provided by the WAPprotocol (Wireless Application Protocol), for instance, can be utilised.A multimedia messaging service (MMS) is a service which is particularlysuitable for transferring these data in the mobile communication networkMNW. The terminal TE then comprises an MMS client device functionalityand the mobile communication network (or another network) comprises anMMS server (MMS Relay/Server). The MMS server transfers MMS messages tothe terminal TE and from the terminal TE to the server S. The server Sdoes not necessarily support MMS messages (does not comprise an MMSclient functionality), wherefore the MMS server must convert multimediamessages for the server S into another format, such as a format definedin the SMTP or HTTP protocol (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), and viceversa. The MMS service can be implemented on top of a customized WAPstack, for instance, or by means of an IP-based solution. As to morespecific details of the MMS service, a reference is made to the 3GPPspecification TS 23.140 v. 5.0.0 “Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS);Functional Description; Stage 2”, September 2001.

Data shown in FIG. 4 can also be transferred in separate packets;supplementary data, for instance, can be transferred separately fromother information. Position and heading information requiring littlespace can thus be transferred by using a short message, for instance,and information which typically requires more space by using apacket-switched GPRS service, for instance.

MPTP (Mobile Phone Telematics Protocol) is a protocol which has beendesigned for telematics applications of mobile stations. It is aprotocol which arranges the transmission of position information betweenthe terminal TE and the server S. The position information can betransferred between the TE and the S supporting the MPTP protocol byusing a short message, for instance. The MPTP does not, however, supportthe transmission of supplementary data; in addition to the route pointname, it can only transfer the icon representing the route point on thedisplay. The terminal TE and the server S are arranged to processsupplementary data in a manner illustrated above and to transfer them bymeans of the MMS protocol, for instance. If the supplementary data aretransferred separately from other route information, the messagedelivering supplementary data must indicate at least the routeidentifier and some kind of route point identifier (or the exactposition information) so that the server S and the terminal TE utilisingthe route information can associate the supplementary data with theproper route point.

According to an embodiment, route points and/or supplementary dataassociated with a route point can also be adapted/added later, i.e. whenthe terminal TE is located somewhere else than at the route point. Lateron, for instance after the entire route has been stored (after step308), the user may thus add useful information or he can correcterroneous guiding information. When the route information has beenstored by the server S, the adaptation of the route information ispossibly arranged by a browser utilising Internet technologies. Thus,the server S can act as a WWW server (or, if it is a WAP connection, asa WAP server) executing the HTTP protocol and it can transfer routeinformation in an HTML format to the terminal TE. The user is thus ableto modify the route information from any computer that can be connectedto the Internet and comprises a WWW browser. The TE can modify the routeinformation, and the server S modifies the route information it hasstored on the basis of the modifications received from the TE. The routeinformation can thus be loaded over the Internet into other kinds ofterminals as well, such as into a desktop computer. If there is a WAPconnection between the server S and the terminal TE, route informationcan be transferred in a WML format (Wireless Markup Language). A WAPgateway converting the HTML format into the WML format and vice versacan also be connected between the server S and the terminal TE.

According to a further embodiment, access rights can be determined forthe route information. Route information can be determined as private,which means that only the user forming the route and the receiverdetermined by the user can utilise it, i.e. load route information fromthe server S or modify it afterwards. On the other hand, routeinformation can be determined as public, and anyone can utilise it fromthe server S. Access rights can be further specified to usage rights andmodification rights, and access rights can determine different usergroups. Different kind of route information can be allocated todifferent user groups. It is mainly the route former who determines theaccess rights, but also the server S can modify access rights. If theroute information is determined as private, the server S must identifythe terminal user requiring route information, for instance, by atelephone number, the checking carried out by a third party or bychecking a separate user identity and password. Such checking must becarried out in step 311 of FIG. 3 b and in cases where the routeinformation is to be modified over the Internet in a manner describedabove.

FIG. 5 illustrates guiding information, which can be displayed to theterminal TE user on the screen SC. The screen SC can display headinginformation 501, the location of the user and the taken route on a map502, textual information 503, such as the name of the road on which theuser is and the name of and distance to the next road. Textualinformation 503 may also include supplementary data added by the user.The user may also add a photo 504 and speech information, which can alsobe indicated 505 on the screen SC. When the user selects speechinformation 505 from the screen SC, the speech information can bereproduced through a loudspeaker (this can also be done automaticallywithout user intervention). The screen SC can also display the time 506and guiding information added by the server, such as an arrow 507.

It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that as technologydevelops, the basic idea of the invention can be implemented in avariety of ways. The invention and the embodiments thereof are thus notrestricted to the above examples but they may vary within the scope ofthe claims.

1. A method comprising: specifying or receiving a route identifier foridentifying a route of multiple route points determined on the basis ofposition information of a mobile device, and transmitting the routeidentifier to a wireless terminal associating route points withsupplementary data, or to a wireless terminal for route selection andrequest by the wireless terminal.
 2. A method as claimed in claim 1,wherein the method is applied in a wireless terminal configured todefine route points and supplementary data for route points, and thewireless terminal transmits the route identifier to identify aparticular route for another wireless terminal to be guided.
 3. A methodas claimed in claim 1, wherein the method is applied by a guiding serverconfigured to select route information according to the route identifierindicated in a request received from the wireless terminal.
 4. A methodas claimed in claim 1, wherein the route identifier is transmitted tothe wireless terminal in a delivery message.
 5. A method as claimed inclaim 1, wherein a route description is transmitted to the wirelessterminal.
 6. A communications device comprising memory, a processingunit and a transmission unit, wherein the communications device isconfigured to specify or receive a route identifier for identifying aroute of multiple route points determined on he basis of positioninformation of a mobile device, and the communications device isconfigured to transmit the route identifier to a wireless terminalassociating route points with supplementary data, or to a wirelessterminal for route selection and request by the wireless terminal.
 7. Acommunications device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the communicationsdevice is a wireless terminal configured to define route points andsupplementary data for route points, and the communications device isconfigured to transmit the route identifier to identify a particularroute for another wireless terminal to be guided.
 8. A communicationsdevice as claimed in claim 6, wherein the communications device is aguiding server configured to select route information according to theroute identifier indicated in a request received from the wirelessterminal.
 9. A communications device as claimed in claim 6, wherein thecommunications device is configured to transmit the route identifier tothe wireless terminal in a delivery message.
 10. A communications deviceas claimed in claim 6, wherein the communications device is furtherconfigured to transmit route description to the wireless terminal.
 11. Acommunications device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the communicationsdevice is a guiding server configured to compile and store routeinformation, which route information is identified by the routeidentifier and it comprises at least a route formed by positioninformation of the terminal and position-specific supplementary datareceived from the terminal.
 12. A method comprising: receiving a routeidentifier for identifying a route of multiple route points determinedon the basis of position information of a mobile device, routeinformation of the route comprising route point information andposition-specific supplementary data, and controlling a route anddefining route points and supplementary data for route points for theroute on the basis of the received route identifier, or selecting adesired route on the basis of the received route identifier.
 13. Amethod as claimed in claim 12, wherein the route identifier is receivedfrom a second wireless terminal.
 14. A method as claimed in claim 13,wherein a route description is received from the second wirelessterminal.
 15. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein a route requestincluding the received route identifier is specified and transmitted.16. A wireless communications device comprising memory, a processingunit and a receiver for wireless data reception, wherein the wirelesscommunications device is configured to receive a route identifier foridentifying a route of multiple route points determined on the basis ofposition information of a mobile device, route information of the routecomprising route point information and position-specific supplementarydata, and the wireless communications device is configured to control aroute and to define route points and supplementary data for route pointsfor the route on the basis of the received route identifier, or thewireless communications device is configured to select a desired routebased on the received route identifier.
 17. A wireless communicationsdevice as claimed in claim 16, wherein the wireless communicationsdevice is configured to receive the route identifier from a secondwireless terminal.
 18. A wireless communications device as claimed inclaim 17, wherein the wireless communications device is configured toreceive route description from the second wireless terminal.
 19. Awireless communications device as claimed in claim 18, wherein thewireless communications device is configured to specify and transmit aroute request including the received route identifier.
 20. A wirelessterminal comprising a control unit and memory for storing computerprogram code for controlling the control unit, wherein the wirelessterminal is configured to determine its position information, thewireless terminal is configured to store supplementary data, thewireless terminal is configured to associate the supplementary data withthe position information of one or more route points, and the wirelessterminal is configured to transmit position-specific supplementary dataand position information to a server.
 21. A wireless terminal as claimedin claim 20, wherein the supplementary data comprise at least one of thefollowing: stored picture information on the environment, recordedspeech information of the user or a text sequence entered by the user.22. A wireless terminal as claimed in claim 20, wherein the wirelessterminal is configured to transmit the position-specific supplementarydata and the position information to the guiding server only after allroute points a user needs have been determined.
 23. A wireless terminalas claimed in claim 20, wherein the wireless terminal is configured toassociate a time stamp with the position information.
 24. A wirelessterminal as claimed in claim 20, wherein the wireless terminal furthercomprises an imaging unit for capturing an image of the environment,wherein the wireless terminal is configured to store a captured image insaid supplementary data, the wireless terminal is configured todetermine heading information of the wireless terminal at the moment theimage is taken, and the wireless terminal is configured to associate theheading information with the image.
 25. A wireless terminal as claimedin claim 20, wherein the wireless terminal is configured to communicatewith the server to modify or add information related to a route pointstored by the server after the transmission of the position-specificsupplementary data and position information.
 26. A wireless terminal asclaimed in claim 20, wherein the wireless terminal is configured todefine route point information until a target route point specified by auser of the terminal is reached.
 27. A wireless terminal as claimed inclaim 20, wherein the wireless terminal is configured to define an endof route indicator in a route information data element to the server forindicating end of the route.
 28. A wireless terminal as claimed in claim20, wherein the wireless terminal is configured to transmitposition-specific supplementary data and position information to theserver by utilizing a messaging service for multimedia message transferover a packet-switched data transmission service.
 29. A computer programembodied on a computer-readable medium, said computer program comprisingprogram code for causing a wireless terminal to: determine its positioninformation, store supplementary data, associate the supplementary datawith the position information of one or more route points, and transmitposition-specific supplementary data and position information to aguiding server.
 30. A computer program as claimed in claim 29, thecomputer program comprising program code for causing the wirelessterminal to associate a time stamp with the position information.